CAPM Business Analysis Frameworks Practice Question
A business analyst needs to gather input from a large number of geographically dispersed stakeholders about their preferences for a new system. The project has a limited budget and timeline. Which elicitation technique is most efficient in this scenario?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests technique selection by scenario constraints — the trap is ignoring the 'geographically dispersed' and 'limited budget' cues and picking interviews or focus groups for their qualitative richness.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Survey / Questionnaire
A survey or questionnaire is the most efficient elicitation technique when gathering input from many geographically dispersed stakeholders under budget and time constraints, because it can be distributed simultaneously to all participants at minimal cost and requires no travel or scheduling coordination. It scales linearly in cost per additional respondent, unlike interviews or focus groups.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Focus groups
Why it's wrong here
Focus groups require participants to convene simultaneously, which is impractical for geographically dispersed stakeholders and costly to arrange within a tight budget. They suit exploring shared views among a small, co-located group, not collecting input from a large remote population.
- ✗
One-on-one interviews
Why it's wrong here
Interviews consume substantial time per participant and require scheduling across time zones, which strains a limited budget and timeline with many dispersed stakeholders. They suit deep, individual insight from a few key people, not broad preference gathering at scale.
- ✓
Survey / Questionnaire
Why this is correct
Surveys reach many dispersed stakeholders simultaneously at minimal cost, satisfying the limited budget and timeline constraint. Responses are collected asynchronously, avoiding travel and scheduling overhead that workshops, interviews or focus groups would impose across multiple locations.
- ✗
Observation
Why it's wrong here
Observation reveals actual behaviour rather than stated preferences, and it demands the analyst travel to each site, consuming budget and time. It suits uncovering undocumented workflow steps, not efficiently surveying many dispersed stakeholders about system preferences.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
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